Short Vacation

Good evening everyone. Been a busy week. Mostly solo, but we'll get to that later. Tuesday was election. It was also Jill's day off before she was leaving for Florida with Mia and her parents and bro. After we dropped off Mia, we voted and spent the rest of the day together. Something we haven't done since before Mia. We picked up some birthday presents for my parents as well as her Dad's, had lunch and before I knew it, it was time to go to work. At work, I heard from a variety of people their thoughts on the election. A lot thought Hilary had it, but we were all wrong. Mia also had her first day of her new dance class she was recommended. She said it was difficult but she did like it. That night I found out Trump was ahead. I had to get up with the girls early Wednesday morning so I went to sleep when Hilary was gaining momentum winning Nevada.

The next morning at 3:30am, it was confirmed that a TV reality host would be the new leader of the free world. Worse than that, was that the Republicans took pretty much everything including senate and house. Terrible steps that will surely lead us into big trouble. I talked to a customer who was exclaiming his concern that 30 years ago, we should have been taking climate change more seriously, and with the new president and his administration he will pick, it'll set us back another 40 years that we as a planet can't afford. Mia cried that morning "How could Donald Trump win? He's going to be mean to all the cities!!" I explained that it's important to remain kind to one another and not say anything mean that would hurt anyones feelings. Jill's family arrived around 4:00am and they were off to Mitchell International to fly to Florida for a short little 4 days visiting Grandpa Gangier celebrating his 90th birthday. I attempted to go back to sleep but just couldn't. The thought of Trump as president sincerely kept me awake. Eventually, exhaustion settled in and I was able to get some sleep. Later, I did some art, drummed and hung out with some co-workers till 3:00am. We played Super Smash bros, had some pizza/beers and watched their favorite show Rick and Morty. It was a lot of fun even though I totally suck at Smash.

The rest of the week, I took care of my in-law's cat, designed some Torrent and IB26 stuff and worked on a lunch note drawing for Mia  with my brand new 72 pack of Prismacolor soft core pencils. These are total high end and different than I'm used to. I have to find an awesome paper that will work well. The one I used with my note was mostly alright. I think I need a heavier paper. Overall, it was fun exploring what these can do. I've got a lot to learn with techniques but the end result wasn't too bad. Saturday evening, I went to a house warming party my good friend Nichole had at her new house. I could only stay for a little while because my girls were finally coming home. 4 days doesn't seem that long, but for me, it seemed like 4 weeks. I asked Jill how she'd do if she was separate from Mia from that long and she was that far away, and she simply said "no way I could do that". I don't think people think its as hard on us Dads as we may let on.
Back to normal this week. School tomorrow. I'm off Tuesday and working early Wednesday. Mia's got her friend Charlie's birthday party this Saturday and I believe Chelsea is back from International Break this week. FINALLY.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Plastic Cup Politics

Greetings people. Well, it was a long long campaign but it's FINALLY over with. Some are thrilled with the outcome of President Obama getting re-elected, others are very upset. The House went to the Republicans, the Senate went to the Democrats, which means not a lot will get accomplished. Every election, the people want both to work together so lets see what happens. Didn't work so well last term. No one can compromise on anything. Guess we'll have to see what unfolds.
Back to the rock.

Rainy today on my Wednesday off. Not cool, but we made the most of it. After a nap, we drove around, stopped by Jill for a quick "hi", and had lunch over by my Dad. Mia was in such a good mood with him. It was great. We shared a bowl of pasta. She gobbled it up like a hungry little monster. Later, hit up over at Grandma's for a quick visit. Always a fun time. Got some banana's and we soon headed home. All the playing, running around and jumping around tuckered her out and she was soon asleep. Love it when she's passed out on the drive. It's quite relaxing, and when I glance every once in a while to see her adorable face, a smile grows on my face :)

Last Sunday on my drive home, I couldn't decide if I wanted to play some indoor soccer at 9pm. When I walked in the door, I found Mia sleeping on Jill's lap. She was hungry so I ended up making her dinner and we had some apple pie. I decided that family time (when Mia woke up) would be a better option. And, ladies and gents, it totally was. This Sunday, I plan to play and hopefully will get on a team. Totally stoked and hopefully will play better. If the weather was better, I could work on my ball control with my brother. Rats.

As I was printing out some reference art for a tattoo design for my buddy and co-worker Mandi, I couldn't help but think how incredibly lucky Jill & I are to have such an amazingly smart, beautiful, loving and always funny kid. She's just amazing in every way. She counts, knows her ABC's, sings songs, plays instruments, loves soccer and hockey, gives great great hugs etc etc. Her earlier months up to a year were some of the hardest times we've experienced but if you can ride out the waves, you can make it to the next steps. I'm not excited for when she's a teenager dealing with heart aches and pain, but as a parent the best thing Jill and I can do is be there for her no matter what. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading